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My New Favorite Stir-Fry Sauce

Stir-fries are perfect for weeknight cooking. During the time it takes to cook rice, you can chop and quickly saute your vegetables and protein and make a sauce. In the past, I have fallen into the trap of thinking I can just mix together soy sauce with a few other ingredients and it will turn out well. It usually doesn’t. I end up with a thin and overly salty sauce. So I set out to create a go-to sauce that can work with anything.

I wanted to use store-bought hoisin sauce as a base as it thick and flavorful but then I looked at the ingredient list on the back of the bottle. Most contain artificial colors and flavors. Instead, I decided to use some of the ingredients and flavors of hoisin but make it completely from scratch.

You can use just about anything in a stir-fry but here is my general guidance: choose one protein – meat, shrimp, tofu, tempeh, mushrooms; choose one hardy vegetable that will retain some crunch – carrot, radish, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, asparagus; choose one or more tender vegetables – greens, pak choi, scallions, peas, summer squash, eggplant, bell peppers, onions.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Stir-Fry Saucemakes about 1 cup / enough for roughly 4 servings

Recipe note: this sauce freezes well so make a double batch!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup white miso

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup chicken / vegetable broth or water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons finely grated ginger

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined.

Add the sauce to the remaining 1 minute of cooking the final batch of your stir-fry. This will allow the cornstarch to thicken the mixture slightly. You can keep any cooked but unused sauce in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.